Wounds [Bellamy Blake]

Unfinished Business [Chapter 62]

                I looked into the black eyes and found I did not recognize them. My mind didn’t have the time to piece together who this man was, or how he knew me. With the face mask on, it was even harder to pin point. Many Grounders had seen me when I was a hostage at their camp, but this one seemed intent on killing me because he hadn’t before.

                “Fuck off.” I kicked at him with my left foot, his hand gripping the toes of my right.

                “Let’s play fair.”

                I gripped the dagger in my hand and swung at him, but my arm wasn’t long enough to reach down while I was still clinging on with my other arm. My pinky, or lack of one, throbbed and ached, screaming out to be given a rest. My arm was feeling like it was ripped in two as I clung on for my life, kicking at the Grounder below me.

                “How’s your ankle?” He asked, grabbing my scarred ankle, bringing a knife to the healed wound.

                “Nikolai.” I remembered the name Bjorn had told me; the man who had dragged me through a forest, nearly taking my foot with him. Rage filled me for the first time in a while, pure anger and hatred that had never been released since the day I had attacked the guard. Fire burned in my eyes as I lowered my grip on the branch, gripping only by my hand now. Nikolai smirked up at me; I could see just the corners of his eyes where the skin had creased and wrinkled. “I remember you too.”

                Before he could speak, I released my entire grip on the branch, falling onto the Grounder who had no weapon in hand. He must have put it away before climbing, assuming that one small female couldn’t do him any harm. His footing was lost and he began to fall from the tree, reaching for a branch. He managed to get this large hands around one, but my climbing was faster than his recovery. Standing on the branch he was gripping, I stepped on his fingers, one by one as they began to slip.

                “You’re a dead man.” I snarled, “If you can even call yourself a man.”

                I raised my foot and stomped hard on his remaining fingers, and he fell; this time to the ground. The thud of his body was sickening, but I turned my attention to Bellamy right away; standing above him was Octavia, samurai sword in hand. She helped Bellamy to his feet as I climbed down the tree. We were the only ones around, meaning everyone had scurried back, and all the Grounders had followed.

                Dropping to the ground, I looked at both Bellamy and Octavia. Our defence had been breached and it hadn’t taken the Grounders long; if they got to the drop ship the metal walls wouldn’t hold them out for long. Frantically trying to figure out what to do next, I felt like a complete fool for a moment. An arrow slipped by my head; at first I thought it was a warning shot, and my mind jumped to Bjorn. However, Octavia shrieked in pain and I spun to see the shaft sticking out of her leg.

                I grabbed my bow swiftly, though I knew I could not out shoot a Grounder, let alone one who already had his bow in hand. Still, I grabbed it and notched an arrow, aiming into the darkness, waiting for a Grounder to come into sight. Though I knew that my chances of being dead before I could see a Grounder were high, I still felt the urge to protect Bellamy and Octavia. I spotted a flash of movement, and released the arrow without a second thought. Silence followed and I had no idea if I had hit the Grounder or not. However, we didn’t have the time to wait around.

                “Can you walk?” Bellamy asked Octavia.

                She nodded, “Yeah.”

                As we began to walk to the drop ship, slowly as Octavia couldn’t move fast, I felt something wrap around my foot and I fell hard to the ground. Both Bellamy and Octavia turned quickly, but I was faster. It didn’t take me long to realize that it was Nikolai; having survived the fall from the tree and now wanting to finish me off. Not if I got there first. I kicked his hand away forcefully and grabbed a rock from the ground. Swinging hard, with all my strength, I lobbed the rock against his temple. As he had been crawling, he dropped to the ground quickly, blood seeping from the fresh wound above his ear.

                Breathing heavily, I stared wide eyed at the Grounder. I could hear grenades and mine explosions on the other side of the camp; somehow this white noise distracted me.

                “Ava.” Bellamy reached his hand down, “Are you okay?!”

                “Fine.” I snarled, though my anger was not for Bellamy, but towards all Grounders trying to kill us. “I’m fine.”

                He reached for my hand and pulled me along, this time nothing was stalling us. As we raced along, trying to reach the tunnel, we were stopped when we spotted Grounders. However, the Grounders came to a halt as well. Coming towards them were unmistakably Reapers. Fear chilled me to the bones and all three of us dropped to the ground, hiding behind a thick tree, looking confused and terrified. A war really brought out how young we all were, even hiding behind guns and other weapons.

                “What do we do?” I asked, hearing shouting and screaming in the ditch where the Grounders and Reapers had come face to face.

                “We can’t make it back to the drop ship…” Bellamy said insightfully.

                “We can’t just sit here and wait it out.” I shook my head; it would be unfair to everyone else.

                “What choice do we have?”

                “Well we can’t stay here; Reapers or Grounders, they will kill us when they find us.”

                A large black figure came into view; large and clearly Grounder. My breath hitched and I hesitated to grab my bow, and it was in that instant that I knew we couldn’t fight anymore. We couldn’t survive a head on attack with a wounded person. Even if we fought to our last breaths, the Grounders would win. Still, instinct took over and I grabbed and arrow, ready to use it like a spear to this tyrant.

So I have suffered on and off writers block. Some ideas came to me last night and I was able to crank out a full chapter this morning, curently on chapter 64 now in regards to writing. I probably won't have any time to write tonight, but we shall see about tomorrow. Regardless, I will try to keep up with the daily posting, but don't feel I'm leaving if I miss a few days!